Sevens: Work ahead for SBW and Messam

Sonny Bill Williams. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Forget the Rugby World Cup - Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam can expect some really hard work as they train to join the All Blacks Sevens for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

New Zealand coach Sir Gordon Tietjens shed some light on his plans for the pair in advance of this weekend's Oceania Sevens tournament at Trusts Arena in Auckland

"They'll work probably harder than they've worked before because that's part of our game, part of our conditioning," he said. "We've talked to them and they've been talking to my conditioning trainer as well and obviously if they're looking to be good at our game they've got to be training it and playing it."

Both players will take part in five or six tournaments next year, including the Sevens World Series, as part of their integration into the squad.

Messam has gone to Japan to begin sevens training programmes already and Williams is expected to join training camps in January and February.

With the All Blacks Sevens having already qualified for Rio, Tietjens will use this weekend's tournament to finalise his squad for the 2015/16 season. The first tournament of the World Series kicks off in Dubai early next month.

The New Zealand development side, made up of core All Black Sevens players along with promising youngsters, will play training matches against Auckland.

"I'm playing a lot of younger players who are vying for positions to be a contracted sevens player," he said. "There'll be a couple of the senior players playing with them but they'll be all the new young guys playing against Auckland."

However, Tietjens said he would also be casting his eye on the Auckland side for potential talent.

"It's fair to say if anyone in the Auckland team stands out as well, then they'll become a contender as well," he said. "I'm always actively looking for new players."

The two-day event is also a critical Olympic qualifying tournament, with the winners from the men's and women's draws securing their places for Rio.

The teams who finish second and third will have a second chance to book places for Rio. They will gain automatic entry to the World Rugby final Olympic qualifying tournament, expected to be played in June 2016.

The countries participating in the men's tournament are Australia, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, America Samoa, Nauru and Solomon Islands.

Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands and Tonga will compete in the women's tournament.